


(Do Not) Stand At My Grave And Weep

by Forest_Girl



Series: Functionally Dysfunctional [4]
Category: Devil May Cry
Genre: A Copious Amount of Headcanons, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Minor Original Character(s), Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Multiple, Parent/Child Incest, Past Character Death, Past Relationship(s), Past Tony Redgrave/Gilver, Twincest, Vergil wasn't a great person
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-13 10:54:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29775090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Forest_Girl/pseuds/Forest_Girl
Summary: A week after Vergil’s heat, Nero asks his father a difficult question.What he gets is to be expected, but it doesn't lessen the impact.
Relationships: Dante/Nero (Devil May Cry), Dante/Nero/Vergil (Devil May Cry), Dante/Vergil (Devil May Cry), Nero's Mother/Vergil (Devil May Cry), Nero/Vergil (Devil May Cry)
Series: Functionally Dysfunctional [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1534928
Comments: 11
Kudos: 42





	(Do Not) Stand At My Grave And Weep

**Author's Note:**

> *Finger guns* we’re back, baby!
> 
> Sorry for the long wait but, uh, 2021 has been a shit show so far in my life with some minor bright spots, AND I’ve signed up for another Zine, so I’ve got a decently hefty workload ahead of me. Still, I finished the first chapter of this, and I figured I’d get it posted and whet your appetites, even if a second chapter isn’t in the near future lol.
> 
> My usual policy for tags apply, which means that if this work is incomplete, tags will likely update with new chapters (and HOO BOY there will absolutely be more tags added onto this later)! As for the rating, I’m keeping it explicit due to the implications of past sex and some future material I have planned (however this first chapter is Mature rated at most).
> 
> With that out of the way, let’s continue!

Vergil would be both the first and last person to admit he was, on a good day, socially stagnant. He did not like talking to others, or entering conversations unprompted, preferring Dante or Nero handle the bulk of ‘talking’ in their line of work. He’d much rather spend his day isolated, preferably in a library, with a cup of tea and something to read. It was hard for him to properly read a person’s intentions, unless it was a blatant threat to his wellbeing.

And yet, despite all of these small weaknesses stacked against him, even Vergil could tell that Nero wanted  _ something _ from him.

It was odd. Vergil was used to Nero being stubborn and abrasive, often charging into situations without a plan, whether they were hard won battles or delicate conversations. Now, however, he was shy, almost  _ skittish, _ backing away before a single word could be said. He’d stare at Vergil for minutes at a time, fidgeting all the while, until he’d suddenly lose his nerve and look away, often leaving the room afterwards.

If Vergil was being entirely honest, he didn’t fully mind the change. Vergil vastly preferred the quiet to Nero’s usual brash tendencies, especially following his heat, where every small sensation was amplified tenfold.

But at the same time, the sudden shift made him paranoid, waiting for the second shoe to drop. Nero was not  _ quiet _ or  _ shy, _ and his behavior was unsettling. Combine that with how Nero would just  _ stare _ at him, like prey, like the way Mundus’ never-fading eyes would—

Vergil stopped. Took a breath. Waited for the memory to fade.

The  _ point  _ was that Vergil did not like being stared at and, if Nero continued, he’d soon be at his limit for what he was willing to endure.

However, staring wasn’t an explicitly  _ malicious _ action, and Vergil doubted that Nero was aware how much it truly bothered him. On top of that, Vergil could also simply be over-reacting, still on edge with the new environment and trying to relax after an extremely stressful heat.

So he left it alone, for now. The situation may sour and turn into a bloody battle in which Vergil would try to gouge out Nero’s eyes, but hopefully it would stop before it could get to that point.

He’d admit that he let out a sigh of relief when Dante sent Nero on a job on the outskirts of town, happy to have a brief reprieve. He spent his time relaxing in his and Dante’s shared bedroom, alone, slowly making his way through  _ The Picture of Dorian Gray. _

When he started feeling peckish, he placed a bookmark and left, going downstairs to grab a snack from the kitchen. It was nice to have these small comforts—a roof over his head, easily obtainable food that he could make warm, all things he’d lacked for years.

However, before he could enjoy these small comforts, Dante got up from his desk and stood in front of the doorway, his arms crossed. “Okay, what did you do to Nero.”

So… it wasn’t just him, then. “Why are you assuming  _ I _ did something.”

“Because, as you told me, you were the only one with him while I was gone, and he only started acting like  _ this  _ after I got back.” Dante said with a glare. “What, was the sex so bad you scared him mute?”

“I  _ highly _ doubt he’s acting this way because we had  _ sex _ you depraved moron. He certainly didn’t act weird after all the other times either of us have taken him.”

“Well, what else could it be?” Dante turned away, running his hand through his hair. “I can’t think of anything else that’d make him like this. Kyrie hasn’t called, as far as I know, so he’s not worried about her or the kids. I don’t think there’s any important days that have happened… shit, I  _ really _ hope that’s not the case, because I don’t know what we’d do if we missed his birthday or something.”

“…well,” Vergil started, causing Dante to glance at him. “I  _ did _ nearly mark him during my heat. Granted, nothing came of it, but it was hard to miss that I was particularly interested in mauling his neck.”

“…did you tell him what marking  _ means?  _ Because I doubt he knows. Hell,  _ I _ didn’t really know until Trish told me.”

“I didn’t, but, if he somehow  _ does, _ that could be an explanation.”

Dante’s eyes narrowed, and Vergil could almost see the cobweb ridden cogs turning in his head. “Humor me here for a second. Before you were heat stupid—”

“Don’t call it  _ heat stupid _ Dante are you serious—”

“—how much  _ did _ you tell him?”

“I explained what a heat was and that I was about to have one, that it would be potentially dangerous to remain in the office as I could become violent, and to leave as soon as possible—a demand he swiftly ignored.”

“…and?”

“That’s it.”

Dante was silent for a few moments as he stared incredulously. “Are you serious?”

“I was a little  _ preoccupied _ at the time, brother. I told him the essentials and left him to make his own choices.”

“Oh my  _ god.” _

“I feel as though you are making this a bigger issue than it is.”

“I’m not ‘making this a bigger issue,’ Vergil.” Dante growled low in his chest, and Vergil responded in kind, raising his shoulders and baring his teeth. “The kid doesn’t know  _ anything _ about demon shit, and not only did you throw him dick-first into a heat, you fucked him full of eggs, nearly marked him, and then left him in the dark!’

“And I told him that he could leave if he wasn’t willing to deal with it.”

“You told him to  _ run away! _ If you tell that kid he can’t do something, he’ll throw himself at it until he proves you wrong.”

“Well pardon me, but what would  _ you _ have done in my shoes? Throw him out the door and hope he wouldn’t come back? Jump on Nero’s hips before he could say a word and ride him into the sunset?”

“Oh, so you’re now some fucking saint for giving him the  _ bare god-damn minimum—” _

The doors to Devil May Cry creaked open as Nero took two steps into the lobby, paused, and sagged as he took in the scene in front of him. “Really, guys? I was gone for like, three hours, tops.”

“We weren’t doing anything. Ain’t that right, Vergil?” Dante hurried to placate Nero. Vergil opened his mouth to return, only to wheeze as Dante socked him in the gut. “Yep! Nothing.”

Nero pinched the bridge of his nose. “Look, guys, I’m tired, and feel gross, and I’m not in a great mood. Any chance you two could keep the peace long enough for me to take a shower?”

“Should be easy enough.” Dante gave Vergil a grin that promised bloodshed.  _ “Right?” _

“…I can refrain from doing anything stupid, so long as  _ he  _ does.” Vergil replied, grabbing Dante’s wrist and gripping it hard until he felt the bones creak.

“God, neither of you can just say  _ yes, _ can you?” Nero sighed before he went upstairs, speaking to the two of them over the railing. “If you two start fighting, do me a favor and avoid hitting the water pipes, would ya?”

Neither of them responded, watching and then listening for Nero to enter the bathroom. They waited until they heard the telltale rattle of the pipes before moving, Vergil letting go of Dante’s wrist, only for him to grab the lapels of his coat.  _ “Fix this.” _

“Why do  _ I _ have to be the one to fix  _ anything?” _

“Because this is your fault!” Dante hissed. “Look, maybe we’re right, maybe wrong, but if I had to guess, this is probably because you nearly  _ marrying him _ is making his demon side pissy. Take him out on a date, explain the Puias and Beezlebubs, and maybe that’ll sort him out.”

“He’s twenty-five, Dante. I highly doubt he wants or needs me to give him  _ the talk.” _

“Considering he’s had his trigger for, what, a handful of months at most? I know I didn’t know what was happening to me after I unlocked my trigger, and I  _ definitely  _ didn’t mess around with anything until I first had a heat, which sucked and scared me shitless. Hell, even if he doesn’t need it, maybe the awkwardness of the whole thing could snap him back to his senses, or get him to tell us what’s really going on in that thick head of his.”

Vergil heaved a long-suffering sigh. “Is this new behavior of his  _ truly _ that unusual?”

“I’ve never seen him this distant before.” Dante waved his hand in the air as he tried to explain. “Look, Nero’s a smart ass, a brat, and has a heart of gold when he isn’t hiding it behind that tough guy act he puts on. He isn’t some shy kid that’s scared to speak up and say what he wants to say.”

“So now, you’re shoving the responsibility onto me.”

“I mean, I  _ could  _ poke at his brain, but he’d probably lash out and pull his walls up even harder. Plus, if he’s upset at something you two said or did, he’d probably want to talk it out with you instead of me.” Dante said, pulling off his best puppy-dog eyes look. “Please? I never ask you for anything.”

“I’d beg to differ,” Vergil huffed, pulling Dante’s hand off his coat. “But fine. I will  _ try _ to talk to Nero  _ after _ his shower and he calms down.”

Dante’s triumphantly hissed  _ “yes!” _ with a little fist bump, while admittedly endearing, did nothing to stem Vergil’s mounting dismay at the slowly brewing conversation that would happen.

* * *

Vergil stood in front of Nero’s room with a scowl. The door was closed, possibly locked, and Vergil ran his thumb across the braided section of Yamato’s tsuka. He’d spent the past hours planning the best way to get Nero to talk, and he’d come up with an idea that was guaranteed to get results.

Granted, Vergil wasn’t sure what  _ kind _ of results he’d get. Positive, negative—it hardly mattered so long as this moronic stalemate ended and Dante was satisfied.

With a steadying breath, Vergil turned away from Nero’s door, summoned Beowulf from his arsenal, and roundhouse kicked the door in. The hinges snapped off the frame, the door clattering across the room and shattering the window on the opposite wall.

“What the  _ fuck!” _ Nero yelled, and Vergil peered inside to see him sitting on his bed in a ratty t-shirt and sweatpants, hair still slightly wet, with his headphones hastily shoved around his neck. “Why did you  _ do  _ that?”

“Because,  _ you _ have been annoying me, and I am  _ done  _ waiting for you to catch on.” Vergil said before darting in, pushing his energy into the gauntlet and slamming his fist into Nero’s stomach. Nero made a choked-off sound as he curled inward, and Vergil dismissed Beowulf as he hefted Nero’s complacent form over his shoulder. “Hm. I can see why Dante finds that so satisfying.”

As Vergil pulled Yamato free of her sheathe, Vergil heard Dante clamber up the stairs, skidding to a stop in front of Nero’s room. He looked at the mess covering the room, then at Vergil and Nero, and he frowned at Vergil. “Seriously?”

Vergil ignored him, raising Yamato and cutting through the air, a near-imperceptible cross appearing before splitting open into a portal. “We’ll be back when the matter is settled.  _ You  _ can clean up this mess.”

“You jacka—” Vergil stepped through the portal, Dante’s voice cutting out as it closed behind him. Demonic energy swarmed around them—silent, yet deafening, his ears popping at the change in pressure—before the opposite end opened, and Vergil exited. Familiar, ambient noise from the human world returned, and Vergil felt the raised hair on his arms relax. 

The portal’s exit led to a currently empty construction yard on the edge of Capulet. The city had been planning on expanding the business section of the city, but was halted by Red Grave requesting as many crews as possible to aid in its reconstruction. The site itself was a fair distance from Devil May Cry, and foot traffic was sparse this time of day.

In other words, it meant they could fight with reckless abandon, and Nero would have to run very,  _ very _ fast to even have a slim chance of escaping him.

At this point, Nero had recovered enough to be a nuisance. He squirmed in Vergil’s lax hold, managing to hit a few glancing blows before Vergil rolled his eyes and let go, letting Nero roll off his shoulder and fall to the ground in an undignified heap. Vergil took a few steps away, rolling his shoulders and cracking his neck before turning around, seeing Nero pick himself up off the ground with a furious expression.

“What is  _ wrong _ with you!” Nero growled, fists clenched at his sides.

“You have two options at your disposal, Nero. You either tell me why you have been staring me down for the past week, or you can stay silent,” Vergil held up Yamato to examine her in the sunset’s slowly fading light. “And I’ll take immense satisfaction forcing the answer out of you.”

“Seriously? You’re  _ making _ me fight you?”

“No.” Vergil stated, bending his knees to a practiced crouch. “I am making you  _ talk, _ because if you don’t, you’ll be lucky to leave with all your limbs intact.”

Nero took in a sharp breath, and Vergil knew it was a low blow, but he wasn’t interested in a fair fight in the first place. Nero had an ultimatum in front of him and, though he could struggle to get what he wanted, his best option would be to surrender.

Despite this, Vergil still felt surprised as he watched Nero forcibly calm himself, his body slowly relaxing as he took a deep breath. “Fine. I’ll talk.”

Vergil copied him, sheathing Yamato wiping some dust off his vest. “Thank you for  _ finally  _ coming to reason—”

“But not here.” Nero cut him off. “We have a lot of shit to talk about, and I’m not doing this in a freaking... empty lot, or wherever this is.”

Vergil glared, letting out an aggravated huff. “And where, exactly, would you like us to ‘talk?’”

“Well…”

* * *

The Day Lily Cafe was a small, cozy establishment squeezed between a tattoo parlor and a phone store, located roughly a mile away from Devil May Cry. The main cafe was decorated with various potted plants, fake vines climbing the wall and around framed photographs of naturescapes. The tables, countertops and chairs were made from dark wood, cushioned with mossy-green upholstery. Gentle, ambient music played from hidden speakers, adding to the cafe’s cozy, nature-inspired aesthetic.

It was a shame the nice cafe’s aesthetic was ruined by their presence. They chose a table in the corner, far away from the other patrons, yet radiating so much tension Vergil was certain the air was rippling around them. They sat in silence, Nero idly scratching the tabletop, until the waitress arrived with their order; a coffee and a small pitcher of milk for Nero, a cup of the ‘tea of the day’ for Vergil, and a tray of biscuits, presumably to share.

Nero poured his milk and a few sugar packets in with unnecessary care, watching as the black drink turned tan as he stirred the concoction with his spoon. Without looking up, Nero grabbed one of the biscuits and started eating, waiting for his coffee to cool. Vergil, meanwhile, idly sipped his tea, eyes never leaving Nero, feeling his anger rise with every long second of silence.

Tired of waiting any longer, Vergil placed his tea to the side and leaned forward, his voice rumbling deep in his chest, on the verge of a growl. “Do you take me for a fool?”

“Wha’ d’ya mean?” Nero asked around a mouthful of biscuits, a few crumbs landing on the table which he hastily wiped away. He refused to look up at Vergil as he reached for another one.

“You’re stalling.” Vergil accused as he grabbed Nero’s wrist, keeping him from stuffing his face further.. “So, if you refuse to talk, I will. Dante and I would have to be blind to ignore what you’ve been up to for the past week, and I highly doubt that you’ve been acting odd because you wanted to build up the nerve to ask me out for  _ tea and biscuits.” _

Nero swallowed his mouthful and awkwardly shifted in his seat. “I brought us here just to have a better place to talk. I’ve been here a few times and I thought it was pretty cozy and would make you more comfortable—”

“Because you want something from me, and public settings work in your favor.” Vergil crossed his arms. “You’ve also misjudged—I’d sooner pull my own teeth out than sit here any longer than necessary.”

“I didn’t want—” Nero’s voice rose in anger, but he settled down quickly, looking around the cafe to see if any patrons had taken notice. One he was satisfied they still had the illusion of privacy, he continued. “I  _ do _ want to ask you something, but it’s… personal? I guess? I figured a place like this would make both of us a bit more relaxed but, if you don’t like it here or you don’t want to talk, we can go back to the office.”

“And I’m certain if we  _ did, _ Dante would nag us  _ both  _ to reconcile, and you would have to confess to the both of us.” Nero tightened up, fingers curling and pressing spiderweb-thin cracks to the outside of his coffee mug, and he hastily let go before the ceramic could shatter. Vergil sighed and lifted his cup of tea to his lips. “Out with it, then.”

“Okay… I guess I should just say it, right?” Nero took a deep breath, his arms tense at his sides, hands now gripping the seat of his chair. “I want to know who my mother is.”

Vergil nearly choked. He cleared his throat a few times as he placed the cup down, the back of his throat burning. “Oh.”

“Yeah.” Nero’s grip on his cup loosened slightly, as if saying the words had pushed his week-long buildup of tension out of him and into Vergil. “I have a right to know.”

“I’m not denying that.” He wished he could summon Yamato without causing a scene, her familiar presence would act as a balm against the sudden onslaught of anxiety roiling in his stomach. “I simply wasn’t expecting this to be the subject at hand.”

Dante could not have been more wrong about what was troubling Nero but, for once, Vergil wished his twin was right. At least when it came to the matter of their body’s functions, Vergil could explain things factually and detach any personal sentiments he had. Nero would be embarrassed for the rest of the day, but he’d recover, and they’d move on with their lives, never needing to jump this awkward hurder again.

“I know that you… probably don’t  _ want _ to talk about this,” Nero said, pulling Vergil from his musings. “But you’re the only one I can ask who knows  _ anything _ about her.”

“Did no one tell you about her as you grew on Fortuna?” Vergil asked. 

“Nobody knew my mom. At least, that’s what it felt like.” Nero shrugged, the motion stiff. “Nobody in the orphanage knew anything about their parents and none of the nuns would say anything, but a lot of us had theories. I never really cared about family ‘til I got my Bringer, and even then it wasn’t really something I could figure out until Sanctus lost his shit. I have some questions that I want answered, and I know that you can answer them.”

During his time in the Underworld cutting the Qliphoth roots, he’d asked Dante what he knew of Nero’s past, as he hadn’t been able to do so as V. Dante didn’t know much, though he seemed ashamed he didn’t know more.

“If I had to guess?” Dante had said as they rested in a field of silken white grass, stained red with Empusa blood. “A part-demon kid growing up on an isolated island, surrounded by a cult that made a bunch of weird demon experiments whose end goal was ruling the world probably a less-than-stellar childhood.”

So Vergil wasn’t surprised by Nero’s explanation. His memories of Fortuna had faded overtime, but he knew he hadn’t  _ enjoyed _ his brief stay. The entire island felt like an echo chamber and, though Vergil didn’t care about the island’s politics or hidden agendas, he still felt suffocated during his stay, and did his best to leave as soon as possible. A pregnant woman with no husband was practically a death sentence with how close minded those people could be.

Still, that meant the burden was on Vergil, and Vergil alone. Not only did Nero have the right to know, he was likely the only one who  _ did. _ She was likely shunned after Nero’s birth, and that she had no choice but to give Nero away if she wanted even a chance to return to society without having a constant stream of gossip and rumors following her.

That didn’t make  _ this  _ any easier.

“Before I tell you anything,” Nero’s eyes shot up to meet Vergil’s. “That you likely won’t get the answers you’re hoping for.”

“What, because you don’t want to tell me?”

“No.” Vergil leaned forward, refusing to break eye contact. “I  _ will  _ tell you all that I know, but that is exactly the problem. This happened  _ decades  _ ago, and I didn’t have much of a relationship with her. I won’t have an answer for every question you have, and the few I  _ do  _ will be unsatisfactory.”

“I don’t care.” Nero’s eyes flashed gold, his teeth seeming to sharpen before the mirage faded. “Do you know what it’s like to not know  _ anything _ about your family? At least you knew who your parents  _ were. _ I was told my mother was a whore, and I’d  _ really _ like to know if that was some bullshit lie they fed me, or if it was the truth.”

Vergil sighed, his mouth dry. He took a sip of his tea, feeling the warm drink sit uncomfortably in his gut. He opened his mouth and started talking, hoping to run through the tale as quickly as possible. “I visited Fortuna when I was eighteen. I was looking for any leads about weapons or stores of power Sparda had left behind, and I’d heard a rumor that The Order had information stored away in an archive.”

Nero’s brow furrowed. “Yeah, there’s an archive, but it’s locked and decently guarded. Only the high ranking generals and the Vicar could enter, and they needed a key.”

Vergil bit off an angry retort at the interruption, settling for glaring, instead. “And I learned about that  _ after _ I arrived. While I could easily dispatch the guards, the room was enchanted and protected with seals and, at the time, I couldn’t create portals either, so I’d reached a crossroads. Either I did my best to break in, raising every alarm and creating a manhunt against me, or I could leave empty-handed with no leads and nowhere to stay.

“Then, by a stroke of ‘luck,’ I met  _ her.” _ Vergil sighed in resignation. “She seen me kill a small group of demons and was impressed, I assume. She refused to leave my side, begging me to escort her home and keep her safe from any more demons. I’d planned to abandon her, but…”

_ “Please!” She cried out, gripping Vergil’s arm in desperation. “I-I can reimburse you! My father is the acting general, we have more than enough wealth to spare!” She glanced at his ragged cloak, his filth-coated hands. “I-If you don’t want money, perhaps I can cook you a meal? Give you a place to stay the night?” _

“She mentioned her family had ties to the Order. If she wasn’t lying, I could break into her home later and steal the key, or at least potentially find the name of whoever did. I agreed, and she led me to her house, chatting my ear off the entire way. Once we arrived, she was kind enough to offer me food and lend me a spare room for the night.

“I would have been a fool to refuse—I could easily search for any keys once she was distracted by something, and I knew better than to turn down a free meal and a warm place to sleep. Her parents hadn’t returned that evening, and I waited for her to fall asleep, but I suppose she was feeling… brave.”

_ Vergil woke to the sound of a nearby door creaking open. He shot up, Yamato already in hand, ready to cut down an intruder, only to freeze. Beams of moonlight slipped through a nearby window, casting an ethereal light across the room, but Vergil could easily see  _ her _ standing in the doorway. _

_ “Like what you see?” Despite the creeping fall chill, she wore a white nightgown that clung to her body, showing off her nubile curves. She was nervous, but she put on an air of confidence, placing one hand on her hip and the other twirling her hair with a finger. The nightgown’s fabric was sheer enough that it didn’t leave anything to Vergil’s imagination. He could hear her racing heart, smell a faint tang of fear, but there was something else, something  _ more _ that pulled him in. _

“One thing… lead to another.” Vergil pinched the bridge of his nose, already sensing a mounting headache. “We were young, and I was a hormonal, half-demon teenager with a willing partner. Neither of us knew what we were doing, and I was dealing with… a lot.”

Vergil remembered, in the months before traveling to Fortuna, he found the first devil hunter who could possibly match him in skill. Vergil spent many evenings watching the hunter, who went by the name Tony Redgrave, confused at the odd pull to the hunter that he felt deep within his chest.

Job after job, stolen kill after stolen money, led to him sharing bed with Tony after a joint job. They got a room in a ratty motel, the mattress covered in stained blotches, and springs poking their backs with each thrust and pull and frantic kiss. Vergil never let the bandages leave his face, but Tony was striped bare, open and willing, and each moan and sigh and desperate  _ Gilver _ made him feel more complete than any vice he’d indulged in the past.

The next morning, he found the other half of the perfect amulet amongst Tony Redgrave’s discarded clothes, and realizing his twin, his other half,  _ Dante, _ hadn’t perished a decade prior, taking to humanity’s vices like a fish to water. He’d ran, and then later found the human family ‘Tony’ had surrounded himself with, and the easy smiles and teasing. An almost normal life.

He remembered seeing his twin smile, but not at him. Lackadaisy grins towards other humans, usually in the bar, and usually after several rounds of beer. Powerful grins as he sliced demons to ribbons.

Vergil remembered how that smile fell when he removed the bandages from his head. A confused grin fell into neutral observation, then fear and anger as he pulled Rebellion off his back, not a single shred of recognition in his eyes. ‘Tony’ accused him of being a demon, a puppet sent to torment him, a twisted reflection, and Vergil mused later that there was a sliver of truth in those accusations.

Vergil took a steadying breath, calming himself as the old memories stirred lingering embers of infernal rage. He didn’t want to cause a scene, and he didn’t want to convey the wrong idea to Nero, but it was hard to let go of the past, especially when scars still lingered and stung.

“She helped me forget, even if it was only for a night.” Vergil continued his tale. “It was a nice distraction, but that was all it was. The next morning, while she was still asleep, I searched her house and found a key to the archive. I left as soon as I did.”

“You just  _ left?” _

“I had no reason to stay.” Vergil stated. “There wasn’t a real relationship between us—at least, not one beyond me being her ‘knight in shining armor.’ I found what I was looking for, and I left.”

“Well, yeah, but it’s kinda  _ rude _ to leave after that.” Nero said, levelling an unimpressed expression at Vergil.

“And I did not find it necessary to be ‘kind’.” Vergil glared back. “The only thing that mattered to me was regaining the power my father had left behind. One human girl and a roll in the hay was not going to change that.”

Nero was silent after that, but it wasn’t a blessing. Unlike before, where there was a lingering sense of dread, this was the kind of silence that made tension build, and build, and build until it finally burst. “What happened after?”

“Nothing of note. I accessed the archive and found a new lead. I avoided the island’s populace while I waited for the ferry, returned to the mainland, and continued my quest.”

“So you didn’t know.” Nero said, his voice shaking. “You didn’t even have a  _ clue _ I existed.”

“…No, I didn’t. And I doubt that, in the remaining time I was on Fortuna, your mother would have realized you were conceived.”

“And if she did?” Nero picked up his head to glare at Vergil. “If she realized she was pregnant, and she managed to find you and tell you, would that have changed anything?”

Vergil’s jaw clicked shut, contemplative. He’d gone to Fortuna in order to leave his living family behind, not create a new one. If he’d felt something towards her, could he have settled with a wife and son? Would that have been enough to satisfy him, even at the height of his obsession for power?

He didn’t know, and likely never would. There were too many factors and what-ifs, and ruminating on fantasies would only leave him bitter, wanting for something that could never happen.

“Yeah.” Nero growled, taking his silence as answer enough. He stood from the table with enough force to make his chair scrape loudly across the floor. He dug through his pocket and flung a small wad of cash and change, blue electricity arcing between the coins and his fingertips. “I figured.”

A few patrons and employees turned to watch Nero’s explosive exit, the front door swinging wildly behind him. Vergil watched Nero turn right through the cafe’s front windows, making sure he didn’t trigger in the middle of the street, but he stormed off before he could see if anything had occurred. His energy burned like a candle on the edge of his senses, but it didn’t raise in intensity, and Vergil felt that Nero would maintain enough control over himself until he reached Devil May Cry.

With that settled, Vergil stared down at their cooling drinks and the half-eaten tray of biscuits and stood, hoping there was enough money left on the table to cover the bill. He adjusted his coat and vest, glaring at the other customers and subtly weaving his energy through the air until they turned away, suddenly mindful of their manners.

As Vergil left the Day Lily Cafe, he took a deep breath of the garbage scented air of Capulet, and turned left.

**Author's Note:**

> *Mario voice* Here we gooo!
> 
> But yeah! We’re going in this direction! And boy, do I have things that I am going to have FUN exploring in this. TBH, I’m somewhat nervous about this bc Nero’s mom is a hit-or-miss topic sometimes, but I wanted to write about her and how everyone deals with her not being around!
> 
> Granted, I’m not going to spend most of this fic’s word count on her. I’m not a big fan of Nero’s mom (I’m a bigger fan of Nero either being an Order experiment OR the DV kid) and I honestly feel like Capcom may address her in a future game/book/manga or smth, so I’m leaving most of my thoughts on her vague for this story. I do have some ideas about her that are somewhat fleshed out, but they won’t be appearing in this fic. Sorry for any Lady in Red lovers out there!
> 
> Additionally, I’m going to be working exclusively on a Zine piece for all of March, so if I had to guess **there won’t be a new chapter for this fic until mid-April at the earliest** (unless I finish it really, REALLY quickly, but I’m me, so I doubt that’ll happen lmao). I’m sorry for the long wait, but I honestly think this is the best way for me to focus on the deadlines within a zine, and there’s been longer breaks between chapters in the past, haha, ha…
> 
> But yeah! That’s it for now, and thank you so much for reading!


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